To Fight After Dying
by 1arigato
Summary: Hyuuga Neji was the first of them to die. He was also the first to wake up four years in the past. Now he has a goal: prevent or win the Fourth Great Shinobi War. And Neji isn't the only one. Time travel AU. K plus to be safe.


The warmth of a friend's back burned in his mind. Neji could still feel his own blood soaking into his friend's jacket, the Hyuuga Curse Seal wiping off his forehead, and his own soul drift from his body. He remembered relating to his father's reason for sacrificing himself for the Hyuuga Clan – _Father, I finally understand the freedom of being able to your own death to protect your comrades_ – and Neji felt all this, as he succumbed to death now that he had spoke his last words to the one who showed him the light. The words built up, rolling over itself and forcing its way out, and before young Neji could interpret any of them, he said,

"…because I was called a genius."

Twelve-year-old Hyuuga Neji lay awake on his bed, staring at his room's ceiling in astonishment. He had awoken when he found himself speaking to an empty room sans for himself, and wondered. The dream was already fading as he tried grabbing after the colours and names locked away in it, but he got away with less than he expected, and much less than what he wanted. Closing his eyes, the young Hyuuga analysed what he could remember. The easiest to pick out was a bundle of emotions that tickled, played, and held hands with his heart, always making Neji feel happy. He could not come up with a label for it, but when he tried, something flashed through his mind, and he decided to give the group of emotions a name. _Orange. _

The next to approach was another bundle, this one mellow at first, but a burning flame of emotions at the core, like a sleeping lion that was formidable when awoken. _Indigo._ And then, surprisingly, the name of Neji's cousin, Hyuuga – _Hinata-sama_ – Hinata…sama. Odd, how his cousin could be addressed in the same way yet starkly different in tone: one, as if she was his own sister – _"Nii-san!" Tears, first from indigo, then from orange_ – and the other, as if she was a cousin whom Neji had yet to personally know. The latter was very true for Neji, until he had the dream. Around the time the sun came up, young Neji had finally sorted through what he could get from his dream, that of which he named big green, little green, and maroon.

At the academy, Neji felt as if he was walking amongst marshmallows. Konoha looked so new, his classmates so young, and Neji wondered when the world looked so innocent, pure, and sweet. Another perspective stirred in Neji's mind, reaching out for what was familiar and what will be, and young Neji could only interpret his other's thoughts with his childlike comparisons. The colours and marshmallow analogies worked fine so far, but things began to make more clarity only when Neji bumped into a classmate of his as they entered the classroom at the same time. When Neji turned, his young self saw the dead-last of his class, the wannabee ninja who couldn't even mold chakra. Older Neji saw Rock Lee, the second coming of the Green Beast of Konoha and argueably his time's best taijutsu expert besides the Green Beast himself.

"Little green," Neji whispered, and Lee, whose hair was currently in a braid but would sport Gai-sensei's haircut soon enough, met the super rookie's eyes in confusion. Neji shared Lee's surprise, wondering at what he blurted out himself. He shook his head, and gestured at the classroom. "I meant to say, after you." If Lee was thrown off by Neji's suddenly polite behaviour, he didn't show it; if anything, the soon-to-be-genin probably believed in kindness in all people, and thought this to be an act of the true Neji the public had yet to see. As young Lee entered the room with a bit more brightness in his face in someone treating him kindly despite his inability to mold chakra for the first time, Neji decided he'd let him think as such.

Ten Ten – _Maroon_, Neji's mind supplied – sat down next to him during lunch break. Lee looked up and offered a smile the girl returned, before he returned to his bento, but Neji did not acknowledge her presence. He knew the girl was curious as to why the class rookie suddenly called for the dead-last Lee, who always ate alone, to join him for lunch, and if she was going to bother him with questions, Neji decided he'd show distaste for such interrogation early on. It was only the recognition of Ten Ten's aptitude for behaving as a kunoichi and not an annoying fan girl did Neji not send her away immediately. "You've been smiling since class started," Ten Ten bluntly stated. Neji finally looked at her and raised a brow, before realising that yes, the corners of his lips had been curled up a little, but he did not try wiping the miniscule smile off, nor did he try making the smile more obvious. "I guess I woke up on the right side of the bed today," he replied. As he turned back to his food, he caught a glimpse of Ten Ten's portable cup of ramen, specifically a certain ingredient. _Naruto._ Lee looked up from his food. "Neji-san should wake up on the right side everyday!" Cue the characteristic optimism that so fondly defined Lee. Ten Ten involuntarily smiled at the pure happiness pouring from Lee's presence and voice, and Neji gave her a look saying _How can you __**not**__ smile when you're with this guy?_ Ten Ten reflected understanding eyes back.

During Ninjutsu, the teacher let the students practice on their own as he graded papers, though he kept a watchful eye on the kids. Lee was struggling with a simple henge when, after a few seconds watching, Neji stopped him. With a light suggestion of imagining his leg was made of steel and then kicking a tree, Lee did so and everyone looked their way at the sound of a tree breaking in half. The teacher's jaw dropped, before he pulled Lee aside and asked if the child knew of a jounin sensei named Maito Gai and if Lee would like the teacher to put in a recommendation for Lee to be put under Maito Gai if Lee passed the Genin Exams? While a flustered and excited Lee listened to the teacher, Neji gazed back at the broken tree. His classmates' eyes were drawn to Lee and the teacher except for Ten Ten, who had been watching Neji watching Lee. "You knew he could mold chakra?" Ten Ten came up to Neji. He shrugged. "It was just a theory. Don't expect Lee to master henge anytime soon." _Or ever._ Ten Ten smiled. "You're fond of him." "So?" Ten Ten looked startled at the reply. Neji turned to her. "Recently I've realised that no one's future is written out for them by destiny. I want to think I'm not too late in coming to this realisation." Had Hinata-sama been hurt in any way Neji had treated her? His memories were starting to blur; jounin Hyuuga Neji of the Second Division was starting to gather himself in this new world that was the past and now the present.

Ten Ten said nothing to Neji's words, and he completed the silence with a Gentle Push towards the tree, just to test his abilities. Rather than the force that young Neji had, at this time, come to master, it was a Gentle Push that Older Neji had come to _perfect_. Neji hypothesized that even his Byakugan would have no holes, and he'd have the 360º vision he had before he died. Ten Ten's eyes widened at the flawless technique Neji pulled, but Neji could sense in himself that he could probably do more, maybe even the clan jutsus he mastered in the future if he was thinking positive. At the end of class, Ten Ten and Neji congratulated Lee on being recommended to Konoha's taijutsu expert when the energetic boy came running back, eyes lit in excitement and fists pumped for the super training he would be able to do under a taijutsu-specialised teacher. The speeches about training and soon, youthfulness would only get worse, but Neji couldn't help feeling happy with Lee anyways.

A week's journey away, Sabaku no Gaara mentally and curtly told the Shukaku to _shut up_ as he tried calming his siblings down after having fallen asleep for one night and thus allowing the Shukaku to take over. "My apologies. After engaging in an intense battle and dying at the hand of Uchiha Madara, I would naturally sleep, and in my recent years, I have forgotten how it was like to stay awake for all hours of the day. Shukaku did not hurt anyone, as I had enough willpower to control that, so how can I make the property damage up to the both of you?" "Who are you and what have you done to Gaara!" "This is too childish, Kankuro. Do me a favour and stop questioning my legitimacy. Temari, put the fan down." "When did you use big vocabulary!" "If you two shut up and sit down, I can explain."

This was going to be a long day for the future Godaime Kazekage.

Several day's journey away, Shizune stared incredulously at her teacher and long-time companion, and Tonton oinked in a baffled manner. Not caring for their shock, the centre of their attention simply continued packing up until she had everything, and even threw the lottery ticket which she had gambled a lot for in the trash, claiming she didn't want to be traceable by Jiraiya yet. Shizune knew her teacher was physically fine, as she was a medic herself, but what of her mental state? Had the loss from the night before been too much that it got to the head? "Tsunade-sama?" "You heard me right, Shizune, and the gamble from last night has nothing to do with this." The future Godaime Hokage opened the hotel door and turned her eyes to the direction of her village. "We're heading back to Konoha."

More than a week's journey away, Chojurou and Ao watched their Mizukage Mei in confusion. From the moment she woke up, the woman had been lamenting aloud over the lack of a true marriage between the five major shinobi villages, and that only Uchiha Madara was a man whose compliments she would never acknowledge. Chojurou awkwardly stood before his Mizukage in her office, and he glanced back at Ao, who was near the door, fulfilling his role as an ANBU guard for the Mizukage. "Umm…Mei-sama?" Only Chojurou had the privilege to address the Godaime Mizukage as such, for Mei seemed to have a soft spot for the respectful, strong, and albeit shy swordsman. Mei did not even look up from her desk, staring at her desk while deep in her thoughts, some of her thoughts leaving her mouth, and thus confusing anyone listening in. Chojurou opened his mouth to speak again, but Ao cut him off. "Enough. Debrief the Advisors instead; Mizukage-sama will pay attention once she's read her papers." Mei misinterpreted Ao's "read" for "red," and she remembered the eyes of the man who killed her. "Ao." The sensor looked up. "Mizukage-sa–?" "Shut up." Ao pointed at himself in bewilderment, and Chojurou gave him a confused look, but said nothing. It seemed Chojurou was going to debrief Mei after all.

Farther away, the Sandaime Tsuchikage Onoki cursed his paperwork, yet not once complaining about his back or hips. Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi listened to the old man's harsh words towards being forced to be behind a desk when he could be out fighting bijuus and whatnot, and Akatsuchi looked at his female teammate. "If he's complaining about paperwork, I guess you won't become Tsuchikage soon," he commented. Kurotsuchi cuffed him up the head. "He just woke up on a good side of the bed today, that's all!" "I believe the saying goes, 'on the _right_ side of the bed.'" "My saying is different!"

Even farther away, the Yondaime Raikage Ae destroyed a third of the Raikage mansion while going after Bee for rudely waking him up. Mabui, C, Darui, Kamui, Omoi, and Samui watched the scene with nonplussed attitudes at the havoc the Raikage made on a normal basis. "He must have had a rough night yesterday if he's going after Bee-sensei like that," Omoi commented. Mabui shrugged. "I wasn't aware of anything past the usual paperwork – then Raikage-sama would have only destroyed the kitchen." Ae's roar cut off whatever comments anyone could make to that. "I died! I deserve to sleep a little longer after going through that!" _Bang!_ "Your dream sounds intense, but the paperwork piles don't wait, bro. If you keep stalling, you'll only get more." "**I was fighting Uchiha Madara!**"

Thus was the first day that time travellers walked the Earth.

—

**A/N: I typed Raikage A as Ae because I get confused whenever I see just A and think its the letter A before realising it's the Raikage's name. Anyone with me? XP On another note, there will be no pairings. I will be slow in updating as well. The Kages' deaths are (more likely than not) not canon, but I thought it would be interesting if not only Neji was sent to the past; therefore, I will be sending others to the past as well even if they did not die in the manga/anime. Please review! **


End file.
